A Filipino sailor was rescued while two others were confirmed dead after a cargo vessel sank off Vietnamese waters last Jan. 2, the Department of Foreign Affairs said on Sunday.

“So far, one crew member, reported to be the chief cook, has been rescued while two bodies have been recovered. The search for the 16 other crew members continues,” Foreign Affairs spokesman Charles Jose said in a statement.

Vietnamese authorities are leading the rescue operations, with the participation of vessels from Liberia, Oman, Singapore and China, Jose said.

Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he said, officially confirmed to the Philippine Embassy in Hanoi the sinking of the cargo vessel Bulk Jupiter off the coast of Vung Tau City.

The ship, which was manned by 19 all-Filipino crewmen, was on its way to China when it sank.

“The embassy is coordinating with the Vietnam Maritime Research and Rescue Coordinating Center and the Philippine Honorary Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City, which is approximately 96 kilometers from Vung Tau City, in gathering updates and making arrangements for the repatriation of the rescued seafarer and the retrieved remains,” Jose said. PNA